Forbes has released its list of the world's richest people for 2016, and though the aggregated net worth of the world's billionaires still reached a staggering $6.48 trillion, the amount is still $570 billion less than the world's billionaires' net worth last year.
It has not really been a good year for most of the world's billionaires, with their number decreasing to 1,810 people from last year's record 1,826. Overall, the average net worth of the world's richest also dropped to $3.6 billion, a full $300 million less than the previous year.
The Top 10 of the world's richest, however, seemed to show something very notable. Despite longtime billionaires such as Mexican telecom giant Carlos Slim losing a significant amount of their fortunes, executives who have made their fortunes in the tech industry seemed to have a year that is a lot less turbulent than the rest.
Topping the list once more is Microsoft founder Bill Gates, whose fortune stands at $75 billion. Though the amount is less than his net worth from the previous year, the decrease is far less than other billionaires on the list.
Perhaps the biggest winner in 2015, however, was Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, whose rankings among the world's richest went up 10 spots from last year, taking his place as this year's sixth-richest person in the word with a net worth of $44.6 billion, just behind another man who has made his fortune by taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the World Wide Web.
At this year's number five is Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos, whose net worth also surged during the previous year. Just like Zuckerberg, his fortunes experienced such an increase in 2015 that he also moved ten spots from his previous ranking. Previously ranking as the world's 15th richest last year, the Amazon CEO now holds the fifth spot on the 2016 list.
At the 10th spot on this year's list is yet another tech mogul, Larry Ellison, the executive chairman of software giant Oracle, whose fortune is estimated at $43.6 billion.
Indeed, with the recent trends in the global economy, very few industries have withstood the current crisis than firms with roots in the technology.
The U.S. still holds the title as the country with the most number of billionaires, with 540 people having a net worth of more than $1 billion. Following the U.S. is mainland China, with 251 billionaires.
